The Difference

Mid-life Perspectives
pəˈspɛktɪv
[from Medieval Latin perspectīva ars the science of optics, from Latin perspicere to inspect carefully, from per- (intensive) + specere to behold]

When I was invited by StudentAffairs.com to blog, I was accepted because of my mid life status and the thought was that my perspective on Student Affairs job hunt might be unique compared to my younger SA bloggers.

Every week, I wrack my brain on what makes my perspective unique. And every time I study this issue, I get a headache. As it turns out, I just find it difficult to separate the older-more-experienced perspective from personality traits. I know a lot of really bright and accomplished young classmates and job seeking competitors who brim with talent and insight.

So what is the “mid-life perspective?” Okay, here’s the deal. We are afraid of age discrimination – especially in a youth oriented industry. As educational leaders strive to increase diversity on their campus, we hope this includes age diversity. In part, age discrimination involves stereo typing older people as stuck in our ways, lacking in passion, crippled in our ability to relate to students, and co-workers, etc.

But think about it. A job offer might involve relocation and uprooting our domestic partners and kids and launching an entirely new life. Pursuing our Masters in Student Affairs, we are non-traditional students, juggling a GAZILLION hats at school, work, and keeping the home fires burning. We are risk takers and have pushed ourselves out of a comfort zone, taken a financial risk on tuition, and dipping our feet into a new field with the desire to make a difference. And if that does not spell passion, I am not sure what would.

So, what else can a mid-lifer bring to the Student Affairs table?

In theory, my years give me more experience studying human behavior and I might be more adept at recognizing behavioral patterns, dealing with office politics, and understanding what works and what doesn’t, and why. I have a larger personal database from which to draw - simply because I have logged in more hours doing things well and doing things not so well. This has also given me more practice reflecting upon both – a process that allows us to accumulate knowledge, wisdom, and information and helps us fine tune our radar. I am also getting really good at asking the incredibly perspective-attaining question, “yeah, but does that really matter?”

However, all of this does not necessarily make me a better or stronger (or an inferior and weaker) job candidate. I have met many young people who are incredibly, and innately gifted in reading people and working the water cooler scene. Undeniably, younger brains are like impressively efficient sponges capable of absorbing and processing massive amounts of information. My internal experiential database and immediate access to Google allows me to keep up.

There was a time when the thought was that an older job candidate might offer an employer a broader skill set because of wider exposure and experience. As technological advances and the recession are busy re-shaping the job market, I wonder if that is still held true? A technophile, and an employee in the technology industry once upon a time, I recognize that keeping up with all the new tools is critical, but requires more and more of my time. Some days, I love the challenge of boiling my thoughts down to 140 characters and sometimes all this techno-stuff is capable of making my head hurt – massively.

But heck, not to brag – I can twitter, text, DM, IM, chat, facebook, tumble, 4square, and do Wii yoga, and that dance game on MS Connect like a wiz kid! Not many of my friends can say that – but then again, I have a 20-year-old IT major son who keeps me on my game. I understand that every minute I invest in keeping up with the tech-explosion will offer a tenfold payback in the job hunt – and not just to trick out my resume. It falls into that “can you relate to students and can they relate to you” issue. And yes, I can talk the talk and envision the possibilities.

Having lived and worked long enough to witness the pendulum’s swing, I tread a thin line between two camps: the plus ca change……camp and that of getting wildly enthusiastic about newer, bigger ideas. Technology has added a third dimension to the way we communicate and share content and may also be challenging conventional concepts of time and place. No doubt.

But fundamentally, we are still the same species with or without all these go-go gadgets and Student Affairs is still a contact sport. Technology is only as good as the heart and soul of its users. And as a mid-life geezer, I want time to reflect upon and analyze all these gizmos vs. the lightening speed we travel when engaged with one another across technical platforms.
Ruminating and chewing my cud over this age-related perspective thing, I finally stumbled over what I believe to be a profound difference between my mid-life perspective and that of younger job applicants: I have a son in college and a daughter in high school. Nothing, short of a life-threatening event can change one’s perspective the way parenting can.

My next blog will be an attempt to find meaningful ways to re-frame the parent vilification conversation with Student Affairs folks. Please come back soon!